See Also:

Does Hell Exist?

I.Generally people prefer to think upon pleasant things, so when talking to people about the
need to become a Christian, we put emphasis on reaching heaven.

A.People focus on the love of God - Romans 5:8

1.But they don’t want to think about the other side of God - Romans 11:22

2.In fact, a number of denominations deny the concept of hell and eternal
punishment

B.“Episcopalians do not believe in a physical heaven or hell; these are "states of
being." The departed in whom there is some possibility of goodness are prepared
for full enjoyment of God by such cleansing and purifying as they may require--in
a way, this resembles the idea of "purgatory." But Episcopalians do not use the
term in the official teaching because they feel that it is often associated with crude
ideas of payment and penalty and the like.” [W. Norman Pittenger, Religions in
America, p.73]

C.“The doctrine of a burning hell where the wicked are tortured eternally after death
cannot be true, mainly for four reasons: (1) It is wholly unscriptural, (2) it is
unreasonable, (3) it is contrary to God’s love, (4) it is repugnant to justice.” [Let
God be True, Watchtower Society, Second Edition, p. 99]

D.What is most fascinating is that the ones who argue the hardest against hell are the
atheists and former believers in Christianity. To them talking about hell is just a
scare tactic, as if being afraid of something is not a good motivator.

II.Is hell unscriptural?

A.There is a problem with the old King James Version. It used the terms “hades”
and “hell” interchangeably. As a result, many people get confused ideas regarding
about the nature of hell.

1.But what we are talking about is a place of eternal punishment.

2.Does the Bible teach such a thing?

B.Some sample passages:

1.Matthew 25:41-46

a.Notice that two places are described. The wicked are sent to eternal
punishment in a place with eternal fire and the righteous to a place
of eternal life.

b.If heaven exists, then hell must also exist

2.Mark 9:43-48

a.Notice the terms of eternity: “their worm dies not” and “the fire
that shall never be quenched”

b.It also implies that the body never decays since their worm does
not die.

c.The word translated “hell” is gehenna, which literally means the
valley of Hinnom.

(2)Some try to explain away hell by saying gehenna was only
a reference to the city dump.

(a)“No remains, such as thick layers of ashes or
charred bones, have been found in the Valley of
Hinnom to indicate the existence of an ancient city
dump where refuse was incinerated.” [John J.
Rousseau, Jesus and His World: An Archaeological
and Cultural Dictionary, p. 145].

(b)“Some commentators endeavor to make this third
punishment a temporal one, and assert that fires
were kept burning in the valley of Hinnom, and that
as an extreme punishment the bodies of criminals
were cast into those fires. But there is not the
slightest authentic evidence that any fire was kept
burning there; nor is there any evidence at all that
casting a criminal into the fire was ever employed
by the Jews as a punishment. It was the fire of
idolatrous worship in the offering of human
sacrifice which had given the valley its bad name.
This caused it to be associated in the mind of the
Jews with sin and suffering, and led to the
application of its name, in the Greek form of it, to
the place of final and eternal punishment. When the
conception of such a place as hell was formed, it
was necessary to give it a name, and there was no
word in the Jewish language more appropriate for
the purpose than the name of this hideous valley.”
[J. W. McGarvey, The Fourfold Gospel].

(c)Basically, people argue that the dump must be there
in order to explain their view of Jesus’ statement.
The logic is backwards and unsupportable.

(d)Even if such a dump existed, Jesus wasn’t referring
to it because he refers to it as eternal. Since we can’t
find traces of it, then the dump’s fires and worms
obviously came to an end, if it ever existed in the
first place.

3.Revelation 20:10

a.Again, there are terms of eternity: “tormented for ever and ever”

b.The same term is used for God’s existence - Revelation 4:9

c.And of the saints reigning in heaven - Revelation 22:5

4.Revelation 21:8

a.A place of fiery punishment

C.So the contention that it is unscriptural, that is not mentioned in the Bible, is false.

III.Is hell unreasonable?

A.“Imperfect man does not torture even a mad dog, but kills it. And yet the
clergymen attribute to God, who is love, the wicked crime of torturing human
creatures merely because they had the misfortune to be born sinners.”
[Watchtower Society, Let God be True,” p. 98].

B.Man’s problem is that he doesn’t accept the gravity of his crime. The murder in
prison thinks he doesn’t deserve to be there and that his time is too long.

1.How serious is the crime of sin? - Hebrews 10:26-31

2.Sin deserves death - Romans 6:23

3.But man has been created in the image of God. His spirit is eternal.

C.But because man claims that it doesn’t make sense to him, does it follow that it is
truly unreasonable? - Isaiah 55:8-9

1.As an example, atheists claim that the scheme of redemption is
unreasonable.

2.“The whole scheme of redemption is foolishness to me. Because our
parents and forefathers disobeyed God, he would not be on good terms
with us until his son was nailed on a cross. This is not reasonable.”
[Oliphant - Smith Debate, p. 61]

3.I Corinthians 1:18-21

IV.Is hell contrary to God’s love?

A.Man tends to shape God in his image - Psalm 50:21

B.God is love, but He is also just - Romans 11:22

C.The need for punishment doesn’t show a lack of love on God’s part, but a lack of
love on the wicked’s part - John 14:23-24

D.Rather than eternal torment, what is argued is that God must mean permanent
destruction

1.“Since God destroys soul and body in Gehenna, this is conclusive proof
that Gehenna, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, is a picture or symbol of
complete annihilation, and not of eternal torment.” [Watchtower Society,
Let God be True, p. 97]

2.The verse referred to is Matthew 10:28.

a.The Greek word is apollumi, It means destruction or ruin.

3.Another favored verse is II Thessalonians 1:9

a.The Greek word is olethros. It means prolonged destruction, ruin.

4.“Apoleia, used in conjunction with apollunai (apollumi) and olethros, has
the double idea of (1) “loss, to be lost, to disappear, destruction,” and (2)
“corruption, destruction, death, ruin.” Apoleia is so rich in meaning that it
would be impossible to convey its definition in a single English word or
expression. ... But the fact that perdition can be understood as
“destruction” and “ruin” does not imply that it involves the annihilation or
destruction of the personality. When Jesus said that no one fills old
wineskins with new wine because it will cause the skins to burst (apoleia),
the idea is that they would break, be ripped. In a similar way men can also
be destroyed and corrupted without being totally obliterated. That which is
esteemed worthy, beautiful, and mighty is lost. What remains is corrupt,
reduced to a pitiful caricature of the original, and it falls short of that
which it was destined to become.” [Complete Biblical Library]

5.How is it used in regards to hell?

a.Matthew 25:46 - everlasting punishment

b.Romans 2:8-9 - tribulation and anguish

c.Revelation 14:11 - torment without rest

d.That which does not exist cannot be tormented, punished, or have
anguish.

V.Is hell unjust?

A.Justice is the idea of a fair and impartial reward or punishment as a person
deserves.

B.When the Watchtower Society says hell is unjust, they are saying eternal
punishment is wrong because it is contradictory or inconsistent to the quality of
being righteous or impartial.

C.God argues that His way is just - Ezekiel 18:25-32

D.God fairly bases His judgment on our deeds - Romans 2:2-11

E.It is only the inmates who are saying the penalty isn’t fair.

F.If hell is unjust, then heaven is too good for us as well.

VI.No one has to go to hell. God doesn’t want anyone in hell. But justice demands that a fair
punishment be given for the heinous crime of sin.

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